Back on December 5th, 2018, We Go To 11 photographer Mike Lewis and I were set to cover Nita Strauss and headliner Angel Vivaldi at The Paris Theater. We had a face-to-face interview with Angel. We contacted Angel’s tour manager and to our surprise he had Mike and I sit in the bus while he tracked down Angel. We sat awkwardly in the lounge of the bus while band member after band member greeted us as they entered from the bunk area and then exited out the door of the bus, as quickly as they appeared. As I scanned the area while patiently waiting for Angel to arrive, I noticed a rainbow dildo suctioned onto one of the cabinets above. Just as I was about to direct Mike’s attention to the ‘multicolored beast’ mounted on the cabinet. I noticed that he too had just discovered it! We shook our heads and had a laugh. At that very moment another person entered from the bunk area, as with the previous people, the bunk door slid shut. This time it was Nita! We weren’t expecting that! She said hello and sat on one of the benches across from us. She made some small talk as she slipped her shoes on; she was also heading off the bus. “So, are you heading to do a sound check?” I asked, knowing that it was probably too late for that. “No, the show started early. We’re going to grab something to eat and then we’re heading out,” she replied.
My stomach sank. We were on our way to see Metallica at The Moda Center, we were hoping to speak with Angel [Vivaldi], catch Nita’s set, [hopefully] miss Metallica’s opener Jim Bruer and be in the building for Metallica. The awkward time in the lounge got even more awkward, as Angel’s tour manager was not able to locate Angel. I wound up doing a phone interview with Angel a few days later. Worst of all we’d missed Nita Strauss. Maybe, that wasn’t the worst thing…as we had to endure Jim Bruer.
When I spoke with Strauss in October of 2018, in an interview promoting her debut ‘Controlled Chaos’ for KNAC.COM she said, “I could have made an album with singing on it, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to make a record where the songs spoke to you through my playing.” As a guitarist launching her solo career, that’s totally understandable. For the new album ‘The Call Of The Void’ [released July 7th, 2023 via Sumerian Records] is a mix of instrumental songs and songs featuring guest vocalists. A winning combination in my opinion. This time around she performed at The Hawthorne Theater as a headliner with support act Lions At The Gate on all dates and a local support act. She’s having a local act for each date of the tour. During the show Nita said, “I have a local support band for each night of the tour, because I was there before too.”
Nita Strauss started her set with seven blistering instrumentals which included “Summer Storm” “Our Most Desperate Hour,” “Mariana Trench,” “Alegria,” “Lion Among Wolves,” “The Quest” which led to a drum solo and then followed by “Pandemonium” which was Strauss’ first instrument recording. As she wrapped up the first half of her set, she introduced Kasey Karlsen who Nita discovered online, Karlsen fronts a band Deadlands. She’s like a ‘goth pixie.’ She is tiny but has an aggressive, mean, roaring, yet melodic vocal. The diversity is good in covering a range of different guest vocalists which are featured on ‘The Call Of The Void,’ which range from David Draiman on “Dead Inside,” to Dorothy on “Victorious,” to Anders Friden on “The Golden Trail,” to Alissa White-Gluz “The Wolf You Feed,” to Lizzy Hale on “Through The Noise,” all which were feature in the second half of the set. I can’t say enough about Strauss’ ability to work an audience, her skill set as a guitarist and her fluid and seamless stage moves are amazing. The band is solid, and they enhance what Strauss is doing and vice versa. They closed out their set with Pantera’s “Cowboys From Hell.” The crowd went into a frenzy. At the end of the set Strauss addressed the audience by saying, “Thanks for coming out tonight. It means a lot to us. I know Nickelback is a town and other things are going on tonight.” There was other stuff going on like the opening of Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival. The turnout was excellent, and a great time was had by all. Pick up the new album ‘The Call Of The Void,’ you won’t be disappointed.
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